SUMMER Day 39, Tues July 7

WooHoo!!!

After my concern over the new carseat law that Texas is putting into place Sept 1st, I posted the info to Facebook so that my other Texan friends would know about it. I mean, it hasn't been real widely publicized, so I was afraid someone might miss it. One of my sweet girlfriends on there saw my post & pointed me to the Texas Department of Public Safety's site where it gave some clarification about the new law.

Apparently the wording of the new law is stated in such a way that a lot of people are misunderstanding it, so they posted this to their site:

New Booster Seat Law Clarified
There has been some confusion about a new state law that requires all children younger than eight (8) years old, UNLESS taller than 4’9” to be in child passenger safety seat system. (“Child passenger safety seat system” includes traditional car seats with harnesses AND booster seats – both high-back and backless versions.)
The law also requires all safety seats and booster seats to be installed according to the instructions of the manufacturer of the safety seat system.

Because of the changes of the wording in the law (SB61), the following legal interpretation should be applied:
• Once a child reaches eight (8) years old, they are not legally required to be in a child safety seat system.
• If the child is younger than eight years old, BUT they are already 4’9” tall, they are not legally required to be in a child safety seat system.
• If a child is eight years old or older, and not yet 4’9” tall, they are not legally required to be in a child safety seat system.

Can I just shout & squeal for joy right now?
I was really stressing over the feelings & ego-slam my sweet boy would've experienced in relation to what I thought this law was saying. I hate to see my children's heart broken over anything....and I know that car seat laws are meant to help keep kids safe... but this one would've dealt a really deep blow to my already complex-ridden child. Thank goodness I misunderstood it!!

Tonight was Samuel & Sarah's first swim class for the summer. We were so excited to get there & see that they have the same teacher as they did last summer. We love Mr. Eric! He is such a sweet guy and works SO well with my kids!! They did great & had a fun time.

Tomorrow night I get to do something I've always wanted to do. I'm going to my very first rodeo!!! The kids are soooooo excited, too!

SUMMER DAY 38 Monday July 6

Before I post about today, can I have a moment to express some frustration? A few weeks ago, my mom told me she had seen an article in the paper about a new carseat law for Texas (where we live). She usually saves her newspaper's comics for Savannah, so she said she'd throw the article into the bag of those papers. I never got a chance to look at the article. She told me that it basically said kids 8 & under would have to be a booster seat. I was OK with that. That just meant that Sarah would have to be a booster from Jan 1st (2010) til her 9th birthday which is only about 6 weeks later. I figured we'd just borrow a booster from someone because it didn't make sense to buy a booster seat for her to use such a short time. We've been talking to Sarah about it these past couple of weeks and she's gotten to the point that she's OK with it, although she's not thrilled. She keeps asking us about her friends' birthdays & whether they would have to be in a booster seat, too.

WELL, tonight I went a-googling (yes, I just made up that word) to find the actual wording of the new law. It says that as of Sept. 1st, 2009 (about 8 or 9 weeks from now) the law goes into effect. However, rather than the 8 year old cut off, it also includes that children must be in a booster until they're 4'9". In other words, my 9 year old son who already has a complex about being "little"...the same child who's been OUT of a car seat since he was 5 years old (because that was previously the law) will suddenly have to go back into one as well. And his little sister will likely grow out of hers before he does. She's only a few inches away from hitting that 57" mark (4'9" = 57"). Samuel, however, is quite a bit further away. Unless he hits a massive growth spurt all the sudden (please, Lord!), he will take a huge blow to his ego when his LITTLE sister gets to come out of her booster seat before him.

Oh boy....I can't wait to share the news about this law with them in the morning.

On Friday morning when I go buy groceries, I'm going to take Samuel & Sarah with me to pick out their new seats. Looks like we'll be buying some since they'll have to use them for quite a while. My plan is to get this variety. It seems the least umm.... "invasive"....for two kids who've been out of any kind of carseat for several years now.

And to top it all off, my eldest child who will turn 13 in less than a month is only 56". Or she was the last time we measured her. I will NOT put her back into a booster seat. Sorry cops. I refuse to make my JUNIOR HIGH daughter climb in & out of a carseat when she goes to an out of town football game to play with the band. Good grief. I'll lie or pay the fine.

Ok, now..........moving on!

Today was great! Larry had the day off (for 4th of July) so we took a "vacation" day. Since he doesn't have vacation time yet, we're not having an official vacation this summer, so we figure on his 1 or 2 days off, we're going to make a special day of it. So today was our Vacation!!

Savannah had an orthodontist appointment at 10:00 this morning.


When we left, Larry realized that he hadn't ever eaten breakfast. It was only 10:30 and our next event (I'll get to that) didn't start til 11:50. While we would need to arrive by 11:30-ish, it just didn't seem right to go a full hour early, so we stopped at a little place with a breakfast buffet & watched him eat their last dried up biscuit & greasy strip of bacon (they were already taking the breakfast stuff out & putting in lunch stuff). We left there & headed to the next event. We took the kids to see Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. It was really cute!!




When that was over, we came home to clean up a few things & take a break before leaving again. You see, the exterminator was coming to spray the house (inside & out) so we had to get out of the house for a couple hours while the poison settled. We had planned to go try out a new seafood restaurant in town but it's been closed for about 3 days now. I'm not sure what's up with that. Since they were closed, we went to an Asian place instead. It was a whole new experience for our kids because the only Chinese food they've ever had came from the grocery store deli. This place was sort of quiet & refined, so giggling & talking in their usual loud voices wasn't allowed.

The weirdest thing happened during dinner. Savannah nearly had an anxiety attack over the crab in her rangoon. She wasn't upset about the presence of the crab, but she panicked about whether or not she could be allergic to crab. We assured her that she's eaten shellfish before without any problems, but she was still too freaked out to eat her food. I don't know if she's recently heard of someone being allergic or if she saw it on TV or what, but she started crying & freaked out and wouldn't eat it because she was terrified that she'd be allergic & might have to go to the hospital. I have no idea where that came from....but once we got out of the restaurant, she was fine. Between these teen hormones & her anxiety troubles, she may do me in before it's all over. When we left there, we went to check on our friends' house (the ones who are moving that we've been taking care of things for) before we came home.

Oh....and I forgot that we made a trip to the library before supper! Indeed it's been a great "vacation" day!! Time for bed!

If I were a.......

I got this from my friend Amber's blog. If you do it on your blog, leave me a comment so I can see your post!

If I were a flower, I would be a red rose.



If I were a song, I would be Nichole Nordeman's "Legacy".



If I were a movie, I would be The Notebook. While the circumstances aren't exactly the same, when I watch that movie, I totally see Larry & I. Our personalities are just like the main characters' and we have that same awesome love story. I know...we're kinda blissfully disgusting aren't we?



If I were a place, I would be a cabin in the mountains. Quiet, peaceful, tranquil. ahhhh....



If I were a book, I would be a Karen Kingsbury novel. (Trust me, it's too hard to narrow down my favorite!)



If I were a holiday, I would be Thanksgiving. No one has messed it up yet with commercialism and greed.



If I were a time of day, I would be nap time. (I totally agreed with you on this one, Amber, so I'm stealing this too!)


If I were a drink, I'd be an ice cold bottle of water.



If I were a food, I would be a veggie pizza. Yum!



If I were a gadget, I would be a massage chair!!


If I were an article of clothing, I would be a pair of jeans.


(Note: If my legs were EVER this long, I would be cheering & squealing...it ain't gonna happen for my 5'3.5" self!)

If I were a pair of shoes, well...I wouldn't be. I'd be barefoot like always!

SUMMER DAYS 35 & 36 July 3 & 4

On Friday morning, Samuel, Sarah & I made our trek to a town on Interstate a little north of here to pick up Savannah. It's our meeting place when she goes to visit her girlfriends. Seeing these girls & their mom was such a treat! Watching the girls all say goodbye, however, was hard. They love each other dearly & miss each other so much between visits. Knowing that it'll be Christmastime or possibly next summer before another visit, parting was hard. They shared hugs & last minute words before crawling into separate vehicles to head home. Despite the sadness, I was able to elicit a grin from Savannah before we drove away. (I took pictures of her girlfriends, too, but prefer to protect their family's privacy, so I'm not posting those.)


We made it home in time to make supper & enjoy our first meal together as a family in over a week. It was nice to have all three kids under 1 roof again. There's something to be said for the security of having everyone here, tucked into beds in the same bedroom to watch a movie together. Of course, there's also something to be said for the distance a visit with girlfriends provides for the eldest two who fight like cats & dogs when they're together. :::sigh::: Absence doesn't always make the heart grow fonder, ya know?

Last night, I made my weekly trip to the grocery store. I was talking about my obsessive-compulsive tendancies with a couple of friends this past week & had to take a picture of this for them. Yes, I write out my list like this every week. It bugs me to have to re-walk the same areas of the store over & over. This prevents that!


And that brings us to today---the 4th of July!!

You can read about our mid-day lunch with old friends in the previous post. The rest of this happened after that visit.

This past week, a friend of mine introduced me to the "Fire Cake". I don't know the real name of the cake, but that's the name she gave it....because the first time she made it, the pan overflowed & caught fire in her oven. :) I figured a "fire cake" was needed on Independance Day. After all, fire works, fire cake....yep...it fits. So today, I made a Fire Cake! If you want a rich, extremely moist cake that doesn't require frosting, go for it. These are the ingredients.


Mix the cake mix like you normally would, then blend in the pudding mix & sour cream. Then fold in the chips. (The recipe called for mini-chips but I couldn't find the teeny ones....the regular ones worked just fine.) Bake at the temp the box suggests, but beware, it'll take a lot longer to get done than usual. I had to cook mine for right at an hour to get it cooked through. The toothpick or knife test won't work due to the chocolate chips throughout, but when the center stops looking watery/wobbly & you can touch it and it bounces back in the center, you know it's done. Everyone enjoyed a piece, or two, tonight!



After the kids all took a shower & got into their pajamas, we headed to our traditional fireworks display. We park across the street from the church where it's held & watch from our car. I tried to get some decent pictures of the fireworks, but they were all sorta blurry. This one of my pajama clad kiddos will have to do.



I hope you had a great 4th of July. God bless America!

Words are so very powerful!

Last night, Larry got an email from an old friend of his from his hometown. Floyd is a preacher. Years ago, Larry became friends with Floyd's family. While Larry was in seminary, Floyd let him come preach at his church a couple times. Floyd's daughter, Kristi, is Larry's age +/- a year or two (can't remember exactly). The two of them were friends in high school & have kept in touch via email over the years. When Andrew & Kourtney moved in with us a couple of years ago & I started this blog, Kristi got the link to the blog & started reading. Every now and then, she has posted a comment, but I didn't realize she ever read it religiously...or that she still reads it. (actually I'm kinda stunned that anyone reads my blog on a regular basis, so the ones who've been reading for 3 years are extra special!)

Last night's email was an invitation to get together with Floyd and his wife and Kristi & her kids today for lunch. We spotted them driving up at the restaurant today & got excited for the reunion ahead. When they approached us, Kristi's eyes lit up & she said something like "I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity!". She was grinning from ear to ear when she hugged me. Wow. She was talking about ME. I was surprised by her statement because I feel NOTHING like a celebrity. I'm just a goofy east Texas girl with a blog. Throughout the lunch (we stayed for 3 1/2 hours!), she repeatedly said things that touched me & blessed my socks off. Before we left, she told Larry he was lucky to have married me, stated that she was honored to have met me and then she looked at me & said "If I learn just a few things from you, I'll be a blessed woman." I thanked her, probably blushed til I was beet red and walked out shocked. I think you could've knocked me over with a feather.

You see, when I type posts on here, I am certainly not doing it to inspire someone or teach something. I do it because I love to write. I jokingly refer to this blog as my 'brain dump'. Whatever is left at the end of the day gets poured out here. I think in words. I read an article recently about a lady who was having a conversation with her little boy. Her son asked her about whether she thinks in pictures or numbers. She had to tell him "neither". She said that she thinks in words. That struck me because I, too, think in words. I talk to myself almost constantly all day long (that is, when I'm not talking to someone else). In fact, I only get online to keep from annoying my poor husband to death. If I get on here & talk to someone else, it gives his ears a break. ha ha! I walk through my days constantly thinking of new blog posts & stories that could come out of whatever crazy situation I'm in at the moment.

I have spent the afternoon wondering what Kristi sees in me, through this blog, that inspires her...what has touched her. Wow. High words of praise, I tell ya. I am unbelievably moved & humbled by her sweet comments. (Loads of cyber hugs & kisses coming your way, Kristi!!)

Over the past several months I've found myself "nudging" Larry to praise me for doing this or that, "hinting" for compliments when I've done my hair & make up some special way. I never realized it before, but apparently "words of adoration" is one of my love languages. (If you don't know yours, read the Five Love Languages book--it can truly transform your marriage & relationships in general.)

And so, because of the sweet glow I've felt all day, I wanted to take this time to point to some women who inspire me through their blogs. These women come from all different walks of life and live all around the globe. Some have been through unspeakable tragedy. Some I know in real life, but many I do not. Some share almost identical lifestyles with me, others don't. But one thing holds true about all of these women. Their WORDS, those powerful little tidbits that flow from their fingertips as they post on their blogs, move me. They push me to seek HIM more. They inspire me, they lift me up. They make me laugh. They move me to tears. They force me to my knees. I am so grateful for these beautiful women and for the technology of the internet that brings us all together.

Ladies, my hats are off to you!

First, there is Candice. She is the younger sister of Larry's best friend from his teen years. She sang Steven Curtis Chapman's "I Will Be There" in our wedding. There is Ruth who taught an abstinence program when I was at youth camp and all these years later, she still points me to Jesus with her words. Then there's Terri who God dropped in my lap a few years ago in Samuel's 1st grade classroom. Her family moved into the district & her daughter was in Samuel's class. We've been friends ever since, even when she moved 1/2 way across the country. There is Angie S. who, well....I can't even explain how deeply her words have impacted me. Through a horrible loss in her life, she's pointed to God & has left a legacy with thousands of people who read her blog & see the Heavenly Father in her words every day. And our private emails do the same thing! She's awesome. Susie's life & ministry & heart shows in every one of her posts....and she's got some beautiful kids! I met Ivy online in 2003 when her son, Luke, was in his final months of living with a brain tumor. Marlo's beautiful spirit & dedication to the Lord has lived on past the pain of losing her precious daughter, Anna Jane, to cancer as well. Patrice's son has a rare skin disorder and she still points out all the things she is grateful for & blessed by on a regular basis. JMom, a mother of triplets, has such a great blog where she shares her 3 little ones' lives. She is a sweetheart. April & her husband are in the process of adopting their first little one, Harrison. I can't wait to see the pictures of him when he arrives in the U.S.!!! Julie & I have gone to church together off & on for the past 10 years. I love this girl!! Lisa reminds her readers whose hands her life is in with every post. In 2007 when we were planning our trip to California, a mystery reader emailed me & said that she lived near Disneyland & would be happy to mail us some maps so we could look at the park ahead of time & figure out which things we wanted to ride. I was thrilled & so were the kids. Darcy's blog chronicles her Disney-loving family's daily life & faith. Angie O. lost her husband to cancer in March. The strength & beauty & honesty of her posts are so powerful. I can't even remember how I found Amber's blog, but I'm glad I did. She challenges women to strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman. Rachel's daughter & Sarah are penpals. And last, but most definately not least is Alyssa. She & I met through an online Christian moms group over a decade ago. While we've never lived near each other, we've talked on the phone often & have kept up with each other's families for 10+ years now. She is amazing!

If you click on these ladies' names, you'll see their blogs....and you'll understand why I admire each one of them so much. You'll be blessed, too! I check on these blogs every single night to see if there is a new post, to absorb whatever the authors post about each day. I LOVE every one of these ladies' blogs and I think that if I were to ever get to meet the ladies behind these blogs (of course, other than the ones I already know in real life), I would absolutely feel like I was meeting a celebrity icon....someone who's had a great impact on me over the years. And because I can imagine how I'd tear up and hug their neck, how I'd want to sit & talk to them and hear their wisdom poured out over a cup of coffee (for them, I'd drink some water, thanks...), I am overwhelmingly honored and touched by Kristi's comments today.

And so, Kristi, THANK YOU. You have no idea how much your sweet words...those very POWERFUL words...meant to me. You made my day!! But it all boils down to HIM. I hope you see HIM in my posts long before you see ME.

SUMMER DAY 34, Thurs July 2

Ok, first & foremost, THANK YOU for the prayers. A couple of you emailed or commented to me on Facebook about having prayed. I really appreciate it!!! Today went soooooooooo much smoother than Tuesday. Don't stop praying....I still have to survive the rest of this summer!

Outside of work/school, it was a good day. Today marked Larry's last day in 'school' for his new job. When he began the job on April 6th, he started rotating back & forth between time in the office and time in school to train for different aspects of the job. He'd go to school for 2 weeks, then spend 2 weeks on the job...back & forth til now. Today was the last day of being a trainee. As of tomorrow morning when he goes back to his office, he's official. All done! WooHoo! To mark the occasion, the kids & I took him to LaHacienda for supper tonight. (hey...any excuse for me to eat vegetarian/spinach quesadillas and chips/hot sauce!!!)

I've been pondering something the last few days. For our LIFE group at church, we're working on a marriage study. We only meet for the study once a month, but in between, our leader is sending us assignments via email. She challenged us to write out a list of our husband's strengths & then share it with him to encourage him. I forgot about it for a few days (oops...sorry honey!). A few days ago, I finally pulled out a blank journal style book I have and started writing. As I hit page 2 or 3, I realized something. I wasn't listing Larry's strengths. I was listing things that I like about him...things he does for me or our kids. It struck me how selfish my list was -- not things that Larry is good at or strong in, not character qualities or traits that people admire about him....but things he can do for me. I guess in the long run, if we're talking about a marriage study, those things are important too, but that wasn't the assignment. So I'd like to challenge you to sit down & consider your spouse's strengths. Consider what people see in him/her that they admire, not just what you can get from them. And when you're done, show them your list! I promise it'll bless their socks off!

SUMMER DAY 33, Wed July 1

Oh my gosh. Where has the summer gone? I realize we still have 50-something days to go, but it seems like the kids JUST got out of school & it's already JULY. Sure, it's just July 1st, but wow. Before you know it, we'll be going to meet the teacher nights for my younger kids & registering my (by then) new teenager for 8th grade. I find that one hard to believe....I remember the things I learned & pulled in the 8th grade. Thankfully my own daughter is no where near most of that stuff (no interest in boys, no devious behavior...that I know of. Dear God, I hope mom has forgiven me by now!). Ugh. And we're on the verge of "that" too. And she'd probably DIE if she knew I wrote that here on my blog for the world to see. So umm, if you see her, shhhhhh...don't mention it, ok? Boy ... I swear the time goes by more quickly every year.

Ok, let's recap the last few days.

A week ago today, I took my eldest offspring (the one I embarassed in the paragraph above) to meet her best girlfriends in a nearby town. They moved away 6 years ago and somehow, the three of them (they're twins) have kept in touch & kept the friendship going strong enough to want to get together & visit a couple times a year. I love watching them all blossom & change & grow. It's been so neat to see these three little teeny girls (who met when they were in Kindergarten) grow into beautiful young ladies....and to watch their friendship grow & change over the years has been sweet, too.

Originally, the plan was for Savannah to stay there 1 week and come home today. Due to a change in plans, we decided on adding 2 more days to the visit. While I know she's loving every minute of the visit and their family adores her like one of their own.......I sure do miss her. Samuel, Sarah & I will make the drive Friday morning to go pick her up again. I'm getting anxious to have her home! After all, I'm having to do all the dishes & laundry with her gone. ha ha! And besides, if she stays much longer they may start charging her rent. ha ha!

In the days that have passed since Savannah's departure, we had the health scare with my father in law and then just regular day to day stuff.

On Tuesday, my school began the 2nd summer session. My class mostly stayed the same with just a couple of new little faces added to the mix. Can I ask you to take 2 seconds & stop reading right now & say a prayer for me and this class? (It's ok, I'll wait. Just look for these words in red to know where to start again.) I'll have most of these same kids for the rest of the summer. And for the first time in a long time, I'm dreading going to work tomorrow. Having 1 child who is a challenge is one thing. I kinda like a challenge. Having to work extra hard to get that 1 child into the school mode is fun. Holding them in your arms to talk to them, sitting them in your lap during circle time to assure that they're focused & listening, sitting next to them every day at lunchtime ....it's a pretty sweet way to get their attention & help them learn the routine. And by the time they're promoting out of your class, you've fallen in love with the kid (or at least that always seems to be how it works for me). This session, however, I don't just have 1 challenging child. I've got well...quite a few. And some of them are HUGE challenges. Not just little speedbumps in the road but full blown mountains with volcanic activity under the surface and acid spewing from the cracks. Boy oh boy.... I need strength to get through the rest of the summer....and some strong hair follicles because I'm afraid I may pull all my hair out before August 20th. Thank goodness I only do this 2 days a week during the summer. {NOTE: I have some absolutely precious kids, too, but the challenging ones sure take the focus off the sweet ones.}

Ok...moving on.

I love watching my kids use their imaginations during the summer months. Don't get me wrong, they use them year-round, but it's especially fun during the summer. Sometimes the smallest things amuse them. Take Monday's marker/basketball bowling for example. Samuel came up with the idea & set up his "pins".


And then it was time to get ready for the first roll of the ball.

Can you see that blur of a ball flying past the camera? Oh yeah...it took out a few pins.

Only four more left! (but I didn't get a pic of the final bowl)

And last night after work, my husband went to my parents' house to pick peas. They have a huge garden & grow tons of veggies every year. We always get blessed by the abundance of their produce and still have loads of peas in the freezer from the past couple summers. We really don't have a place to store any MORE peas. But my sweet honey wanted to go pick some more anyway. I tried to remind him that it's 100+ degrees and picking peas is hard work, but alas, I couldn't deter him. He went to pick for the simple joy of doing it. Hey, whatever floats your boat, baby. (by the way, I did find a place to put the 2 bags he brought home)

Today was an especially productive one. A friend of mine asked me if I'd found some kids' ADD medicine today. I had to laugh because I'm not usually able to stay focused long enough to finish this many tasks. So ha ha...even without my dose of Ritalin, I finished the following:

1. several loads of laundry
2. dishes (x 3 loads before the day was done)
3. made all of my July lesson plans & supply lists
4. typed up a letter to my class kids' parents
5. cooked/served 3 meals (2 easy ones and 1 more complex & involved)
6. made our menu & grocery list out for this coming week
7. watched several episodes of Phineas & Ferb w/ the kids (while folding laundry of course)
8. watched House Hunters & Twins by Surprise tonight
9. checked my email/facebook a few times throughout the day
10. packed up a bunch of books to ship tomorrow
11. cleaned off the bar (trust me, this is a pretty major feat)
12. cleaned my kitchen sink (yikes... have you seen what's on the backside of the faucet/handle thingy?.....gross!)
13. read a few chapters in my current Karen Kingsbury book (Halfway to Forever)
14. and others things I'm sure, but it's getting late............

Whew. It's just past midnight & I need to hit the sack. Time to rest up for my workday tomorrow. Thanks again for your prayers!